memeorandum: U.S. Attorney Resignation Made on Threat of Immediate Firing (Paul Kiel/TPMmuckraker)

5:55 PM ET, June 19, 2007

Top Items:

Carter: Stop favoring Fatah over Hamas — The United States, Israel and the European Union must end their policy of favoring Fatah over Hamas, or they will doom the Palestinian people to deepening conflict between the rival movements, former US President Jimmy Carter said Tuesday.

Discussion: Washington Post, Israel Matzav, Don Surber, Michael P.F. van der Galiën and Israpundit

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:

Might Makes Right? — What kind of world leader would instruct the international community to engage with Hamas, even though it just committed an armed insurrection against the Palestinian Authority? Who among the world's experts would argue that the coup d'etat legitimized their claim to speak for the Palestinian people?

Hindrocket / Power Line:

CARTER ATTACKS U.S., STICKS UP FOR HAMAS — Jimmy Carter was in Ireland today to speak to the ninth annual NGO Forum on Human Rights. Along the way, he picked up a check for $1.2 million from the Irish government to the Carter Center. The former President, loyal as always to his financial backers …

Discussion: ireland.com, Israpundit and Instapundit.com

Michelle Malkin: Jimmy Carter said what? Part 999

Michael Yon:

Be Not Afraid … [From a prayer card I found on a base in Anbar Province, Iraq.] — Thoughts flow on the eve of a great battle. By the time these words are released, we will be in combat. Few ears have heard even rumors of this battle, and fewer still are the eyes that will see its full scope.

Discussion: Comments From Left Field, CNN, Done With Mirrors, Flopping Aces, Neptunus Lex, QandO, Confederate Yankee, Captain's Quarters, GINA COBB, Jules Crittenden and shotinthedark.info/wp …

Bill Roggio / The Fourth Rail:

The Battle of Baqubah II — The Baqubah region. Click map to view. — Major offensive in al Qaeda's so-called capital of the Islamic State of Iraq — The Diyala Campaign is underway. As part of major offensive operations throughout the belts regions of Baghdad …

Discussion: New York Times, The Newshoggers, The Atlantic Online, Michael P.F. van der Galiën and Multi-National Force

Washington Post:

U.S. Forces Target Insurgents in New Operation — U.S. troops backed by helicopters and Bradley Fighting Vehicles launched a major offensive Tuesday to clear the Sunni extremist group al-Qaeda in Iraq from its new stronghold in Diyala province north of the capital, the U.S. military said in a statement.

Discussion: New York Times, Liberty Street, TPMmuckraker, Telegraph, INTEL DUMP, Macsmind and The Fourth Rail

David Weigel / Reason Magazine:

The Awful Truth About 9/11 — The guerrilla reporters of Infowars—last seen being broken up and hauled out of the spin room at CNN's Republican debate—nailed Michael Moore at a screening of Sicko and got him to discuss 9/11 conspiracy theories. (Sorry, other theories of the events of 9/11.)

Discussion: Hot Air, protein wisdom, NewsBusters.org, Neptunus Lex and Little Green Footballs

Gregg Goldstein / Hollywood Reporter:
'Sicko' leaks have studios crying malpractice

Discussion: Liberal Values, Althouse and Say Anything

Kyle Smith / Movies:
Kyle Smith on Michael Moore's 'Sicko'

Discussion: Say Anything

Fred Thompson / Townhall.com:

Fred Thompson's Remarks to Policy Exchange in London — Thank you very much. Charles Moore, Anthony Browne, Dean Godson, distinguished guests: I appreciate the cordial welcome to London. I always look forward to visiting the United Kingdom, and this time around I couldn't ask for a better host than the Policy Exchange.

Discussion: Outside The Beltway, The Newshoggers, CALIFORNIA YANKEE, Reuters, Redstate, TIME, Say Anything and The Politico

Bob Geiger:

Here's How Fringe I Am, Fred Thompson — Did you know that former Senator and maybe, kinda, sorta Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson has his own column on the ABC Radio Network's web site? Neither did I until someone pointed out to me that he had written a piece bashing Senate …

Discussion: Think Progress, The Carpetbagger Report, DownWithTyranny!, Liberal Values, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Atlantic Online, Betsy's Page and Blue Crab Boulevard

Tim Montgomerie / Britain and America:
Fred Thompson in London

Discussion: Townhall.com, Captain's Quarters, Roger L. Simon and Hot Air

Richard Cohen / Washington Post:

The Runaway Train That Hit Scooter Libby — The attorney general called a meeting. He assembled all the U.S. attorneys in the Great Hall of the Justice Department and told them, in essence, that their chief responsibility was to decide whom not to prosecute.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, All Spin Zone, Firedoglake, Heading Right, A Spork in the Drawer, Shakesville, Daily Kos, TalkLeft, The Next Hurrah, Booman Tribune, Comments From Left Field, uggabugga, Captain's Quarters, BLCKDGRD, Blue Crab Boulevard, The Sideshow, The American Street and Brian Beutler

Craig Gordon / Newsday:

Rudy missing in action for Iraq panel — Giuliani's campaign fundraising kept him from commitment to panel studying Iraq. — WASHINGTON — Rudolph Giuliani's membership on an elite Iraq study panel came to an abrupt end last spring after he failed to show up for a single official meeting of the group …

Discussion: The Politico, Power Line, The Carpetbagger Report, Think Progress, Talking Points Memo, Comments From Left Field, Washington Monthly, The Atlantic Online, bustardblog, Taylor Marsh, Democratic National Committee, MSNBC, State of the Day and MyDD

Dan Froomkin / Washington Post:

Casual Lawbreaking at the White House — New evidence unearthed by House Democrats establishes that White House political adviser Karl Rove and many of his colleagues used Republican National Committee e-mail accounts for official business — even though White House policy is clear that doing …

Discussion: TalkLeft, The Register, Corrente, CBS News, WTF Is It Now??, The Carpetbagger Report and PBD

The Politico:

Tucker and Hardball Meet the Press — Did you hear that MSNBC is shutting down its 400 North Capitol St. doors? — Last week, the blog FTVLive wrote: "Sources tell FTVLive that NBC bean counters are circling the wagons around the D.C. operations of NBC News and sister MSNBC and draining key resources …

Discussion: mediabistro.com and NewsBusters.org

Austin Fenner / New York Post:

KERIK'S CRY OVER RUDY — LAMENTS LOSING HIS PAL — Disgraced ex-NYPD Commissioner Bernie Kerik can't stop crying over his fizzled friendship with former BFF Rudy Giuliani. — "I accept the distance created by Giuliani. I understand it, but inside, it's killing me," Kerik said.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and TalkLeft

Diane Cardwell / New York Times:

U.S. Is 'Really in Trouble,' Says Bloomberg, Sounding Like a Candidate — Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, sounding every inch the presidential candidate he insists he is not, brought his message of pragmatic, nonpartisan leadership to California on Monday, telling a crowd of Google employees that the nation was "really in trouble."

Discussion: New York Sun, Donklephant, The Carpetbagger Report and MSNBC

Heritage Foundation:

How High Will Gas Prices Go? — A state by state analysis — Mouse over map to view breakdown by state. — Based on a review of the energy legislation currently before the U.S. Senate, S. 1419, including the just completed section on tax changes, the price of regular unleaded gasoline …

Discussion: Blue Crab Boulevard, Bluey Blog and QandO

ZOA / Zionist Organization of America:

Mahmoud Abbas Is No Moderate & Deserves No Support — The Zionist Organization of America is opposing any Israeli and American support for Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah terrorist group. ( Jerusalem Post, June 17, 2007). — Mahmoud Abbas in his own words:

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs and Israpundit